More people die in Louisiana each year from occupational disease and trauma, environmental toxic pollutants and medical incompetence than all the Americans killed on 9/11, Ralph Nader said, estimating that just over 3,000 people die in Louisiana from those three areas alone.

Nader, former Independent presidential candidate, participated in a press conference last Friday, before speaking to students in Nunemaker Hall.

“Louisiana is the most polluted state in the nation, so it’s even more in its proportional share,” Nader said.

Nader stated that politicians have skewed society’s priorities through manipulation and fear tactics. He claimed that both Bush and Kerry have narrowed the issues so much, that they are producing a national nervous breakdown over the fear of terrorism.

“A vote for the Nader-Camejo ticket, here in Louisiana, should be a much easier one than in battleground states,” Nader said. “So the voters in Louisiana can vote their conscience.”

When asked if this statement meant voters in the swing states should not consider him in their voting decisions, Nader responded he had campaigned to build opposition to the Bush regime, and the Democrats think they’ve the only way of doing so.

Nader also claimed that the Democratic National Party, with John Kerry’s knowledge, “launched a massive demonstration of political bigotry” to ensure his absence from battleground states’ ballots. He said that he spoke to Kerry, roughly 13 weeks ago, to report the Democrats’ “dirty tricks.” Nader claimed that Kerry told him he would look into it but never replied back.

For the presidential election, the Nader-Camejo ticket was only on the ballot in 35 states and the District of Columbia.

As in past elections, Nader expressed his desire for electoral reform and an overhaul of the two-party system.

“Politics are clearly broken in this country – most people know that,” Nader said. “Half the people don’t even vote. If you ask them why, they say it doesn’t mean a thing to them. It doesn’t mean better wages. It doesn’t mean better daycare.”

Naomi King can be reached at [email protected].